Pro Football Focus seems to be a fan of the Arizona Cardinals draft class
By Avery Duncan
Football analytics firm Pro Football Focus seems to be a fan of what the Arizona Cardinals did during the draft.
The Arizona Cardinals have drafted five players that are in Pro Football Focus’ top-50 draft prospects in their 250-player big-board. Even more impressive, four of those players came after the first round selection of Kyler Murray, their top player in the class.
Kyler Murray – QB, Oklahoma
Pick: No. 1 overall
PFF rank: 1
PFF positional rank: 1
What PFF thinks of him: Murray was the highest rated offensive prospect in this draft. He finished with an overall 94.6 PFF grade, 93.7 pass grade, and 84.4 run grade. He ranks second in the class in adjusted completion rate at 78..9% and is first in adjusted completion rate versus pressure with 76.5%. He’s also second in adjusted completion rate versus the blitz with 76.5%.
Byron Murphy – CB, Washington
Pick: No. 33 overall
PFF rank: 6
PFF positional rank: 1
What PFF thinks of him: Murphy finished his 2018 season with an elite PFF grade of 92.0, which earned him the award of best cornerback according to PFF. He allowed a 54.1 passer rating for his entire college tenure and finished 17th in the class in yards allowed per cover snap with .66. He allowed a total of 43 receptions for 469 yards and four touchdowns at Washington.
Andy Isabella – WR, Massachusetts
Pick: No. 62 overall
PFF rank: 30
PFF positional rank: 4
What PFF thinks of him: Possessing a 97.8 PFF deep receiving grade, Isabella is the highest ranked deep-ball receiver in the class. His 4.15 yards per route run rank first in the class, while 705 deep pass yards rank second. In 2018 alone, he had 33 slot receptions for 429 yards, he also had a total of 1,489 YAC yards in his college tenure.
Zach Allen – IDL/EDGE, Boston College
Pick: No. 65 overall
PFF rank: 40
PFF positional rank: 6
What PFF thinks of him: Allen finished his 2018 season with an elite PFF grade of 90.9. Part of that grade stems from his 90.3 pass-rush grade and 87.7 run defense grade. He 122 total run stops in his college career, and an averaged an outside pressure in every 13.4 snaps. He also tallied 33 QB hits, 65 hurries, and 17 blocked passes for his career.
Hakeem Butler – WR, Iowa State
Pick: No. 103 overall
PFF rank: 42
PFF positional rank: 6
What PFF thinks of him: With a 96.2 deep receiving grade, Butler is the second highest ranked deep-ball receiver in this class, behind Isabella. However, he topped Isabella in deep passing yards with 721 and led the class in deep receptions with 19. His 3.28 yards per route-run rank seventh in the class, but he ultimately fell to 103 because of that 16.7% drop-rate, 157th in the class.
Deionte Thompson – S, Alabama
Pick: No. 139 overall
PFF rank: 66
PFF positional rank: 7
What PFF thinks of him: Finishing 2018 with an 88.4 overall grade, Thompson was one of the highest ranked safeties in the draft. He had an 88.6 coverage grade, 80.8 run defense grade, and 60.8 pass rush grade last year. He also ranks 24th in the class in cover snaps per receptions with 26.58 and yards per cover snap with .53.
KeeSean Johnson – WR, Fresno State
Pick: No. 174 overall
PFF rank: 173
PFF positional rank: 24
What PFF thinks of him: Johnson ranked within the top-11 in three different receiving categories; yards per route run (3.05), deep pass receptions (15), and deep pass yards (541). He finished his 2018 year with a grade of 82.9 and had a receiving grade of 83.9. although he dropped 19 passes through his college tenure, ten of those came in his first two seasons.
Lamont Gaillard – C, Georgia
Pick: No. 179 overall
PFF rank: 106
PFF positional rank: 4
What PFF thinks of him: With a 78.9 grade, Gaillard is one of the highest rated centers in the draft. He allowed just 5.0 sacks during his time at Georgia, and an inside pressure just once in every 366 snaps, good for eighth in the class. The center also had a run-block success rate of 91.3%, and a pass-block efficiency grade of 98.7; both numbers near the top of the draft.
Joshua Miles – OT, Morgan State
Pick: No. 248 overall
PFF rank: Unranked
PFF positional rank: N/A
What PFF thinks of him: N/A
Michael Dogbe – DT, Temple
Pick: No. 249 overall
PFF rank: 133
PFF positional rank: 13
What PFF thinks of him: One of the highest graded run-defenders in the draft, Dogbe finished 2018 with a run defense grade of 84.5 compared to his 75.9 pass rush grade. However, his 6.7 pass-rushing productivity grade is ninth in the class. In 2018 alone, Dogbe had 36 run-stops and his run-stop rate of 8.0% ranks 27th in the class.
Caleb Wilson – TE, UCLA
Pick: No. 254 overall
PFF rank: 121
PFF positional rank: 7
What PFF thinks of him: Wilson graded very favorably in receiving categories, and not so much in run-blocking categories. His 2.56 yards per route run is the top in the class amongst tight ends, while his slot yards (280) and receptions (15), ranked eighth and 14th, respectively. His 149 deep pass yards are sixth as well. His pass-block grade of 78.3 is high, but his run-block grade of 59.1 is closer to the bottom of the class.
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